Book review: Luther Wright's book describes time with Utah Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY — They're his thoughts, his feelings, mostly his words.

They're the answers to questions perhaps never asked during his rookie, and lone, NBA season.

They're oft-powerful anecdotes, all contained in the just-published memoir of one-time Jazz first-round draft choice — and big-time bust — Luther Wright.

"A Perfect Fit" ($15; Gallery Books) is the perfect read for Jazz fans whose lasting, and perhaps only, memory of Wright is what was at the time described as a "nervous breakdown" at an Interstate 80 rest stop near Tooele.

Wright and co-author Karen Hunter, a former New York Daily News sportswriter, shed light on demons that terrorized the burly center and offer interesting insight on why his short stay in Utah went awry.

From his memories of sexual molestation by three relatives to substance abuse that started even before he got to Seton Hall University, Wright and Hunter cover it all.

It's the compelling tale of an out-of-control spiral that began to take a turn for the better only after two toes from his drug-ravaged body were amputated, and the short-but-mesmerizing story of how he got to where he is today, playing gospel music and leading a weekly Bible study class at a church in native New Jersey.

The softback starts on NBA Draft night in 1993, when Utah took Wright at No. 18 overall — two picks after his homestate New Jersey Nets passed, taking Kansas guard Rex Walter instead.

"I was told that Utah needed me. Their center Mark Eaton was gone, and I would be that final piece for (John) Stockton and (Karl) Malone to finally win a championship. ... I knew who they were, but I wasn't a fan and I couldn't tell you anything about them outside of their names."

Wright describes his arrival at a Salt Lake City hotel lobby, where "I noticed that I didn't see any black people, just whites and Mexicans. ... I saw people with cowboy hats and cowboy boots."

Writes Wright:

"I found it (Utah) was run by the Mormons and they had their own set of rules. Rules I had no intention of following."